what’s up guys, gosh, a lot of things going on here on our last few days on sairgao island. there was an island wide blackout so no electricity all day yesterday. our room was so hot!!! no a/c so we had to get out. yes, it was cloudy again so we went to watch the chicken fights. we bet on a champion looking chicken and lost. it was pretty intense. took some photos and video so will post it later. but gosh, the chicken fights here are the real deal. i went to one in hawaii before but it’s just not the same. the chickens fight till death and the dead one is immediately on the fire. i swear, those guys were eating the chicken about 10 minutes after it lost. it’s totally illegal in america but it’s the national sport here in the philippines. something you to see. anyway, getting ready to get our plane back to cebu today. going to pack up my stuff, pay the bills, and be back in japan tomorrow. salamat sairgao…

the other day, hayato and i went diving for fish. as i told you before, there’s no fish in the philippines. but we tried anyway. and yeah, there was no fish. but there were tons of shells. stuck these in my pocket….

check out this little piggy. so cute….

and check out his brothers and sisters. these piggy’s mother died while giving birth so this kid is looking after them. then once they get big, this kid will probably kill them and eat them. that’s daily life here in the philippines…. and speaking about pigs, i’ve seen hundreds of pigs here, but none bigger than kalua. not even close….
**just wanted to say much mahalo to gerry, susan, and naoki from sagana, the staff at kesa cloud 9, and all the local boys here. i had an awesome time and will never forget your hospitality. salamat….
**anyway, gotta get out of here. can’t wait to get back to japan and eat sashimi with an ice cold beer…. see ya….

do you know why this place is named cloud 9? it’s because when callahan, taylor knox, and evan slater discovered this place and showed it to the world back in 1991, cloud 9 was the only candy bar sold on this island. you still can find it and it tastes pretty good. i don’t like candy but i tried it. maybe i’ll take some melted ones back to japan. just 4 years ago, there was no such thing as internet access here. now, there’s a couple places with high speed internet and sagana has WiFi. gosh, how times change. oh, my phone is broken so it’s been such a long time since i talked to anybody. so just wanted to say everybody. “moshi moshi, genki desu ka. i’m fine. be back in japan in a couple of days. please don’t call me to drink. for surf, ok. but not to drink. i’m going to start training for my okinawa and indo free dive trips so i have to be ready. i just want to eat good food so i can put back on the weight i lost throwing up and pissing out of my ass. so if you call me for a drink, i’ll hang up. haha. have a nice day and see you all soon”….. sayonara…[:?????$B!x(B???:]
anyway, check out the results for the cloud 9 contest…..
Quarter Finals
1. Makua Rothman (Haw) 13.37 def Dustin Cuizon (Haw) 13.13
2. Nick Vasicek (Aus) 16.23 def Luke Dorrington (Aus) 13.77
3. Wade Goodall (Aus) 16.77 def Mikala Jones (Haw) 16.67
4. Dave Reardon-Smith (Aus) 15.26 def Clint Kimmins (Aus) 14.43
Semi Finals
1. Nick Vasicek (Aus) 17.97 def Makua Rothman (Aus) 16.64
2. Wade Goodall (Aus) 17.24 def Dave Reardon-Smith (Aus) 16.47
Final
1. Wade Goodall (Aus) 17.40 def Nick Vasicek (Aus) 14.93

good morning. 7am here in cloud 9. another cloudy dark day. it’s been so cloudy that i forgot what the sun looks like. the waves are flat but supposed to come up tomorrow. i hope so because it’s our last day here and i wouldn’t mind getting one more cloud 9 barrel before jumping on our flight.

last night, it was another barbecue for dinner. this place is called “lalay’s”. the food is so good there. the 3 of us ordered a lot of food, had some beers, and it was only $10 for everything. check out the katsuo or “aku” and chicken legs. tokura-san and hayato ate chicken neck but i passed…..

almost every restaurant here is outdoor. this one is on the beach so under us is all sand. pretty cool….

they had a huge event last night. there were live bands, a beer drinking contest, a fashion show, and even a bikini show. well, a wet bikini show. it started to rain so all the girls were wet. i estimate 10,000 showed up. it was packed like sardines. luckily we got to stay in the vip area where the governor had it stocked with free food and beer…. and get this, 5 minutes after i took this photo, this place was empty. it started to rain hard and the electricity went off. it was pitch dark and everybody was out of there. i’ve never seen a party end so fast….

the locals here are so cool. so friendly and kind. the farthest guy on the lefts name is pittsburgh. such a cool and friendly kid. if it wasn’t for him, shinpei and i would have had to walk home last night. it was raining and absolutely no transportation after the blackout. he told me to wait, ran into the darkness, and came back with a motorcycle. so instead of an hour walk home in the rain, we got home in 15 minutes. still soaking wet….

one of my friends from hawaii asked me how the chicks are up here. look for yourself….
**anyway, since the waves are flat, it’s a good chance for a dive. fish is scarce here but it’s worth a shot. have a nice day…